Delusional man pleads guilty in stabbing at St. Paul group home

August 17, 2012 - 7:36 PM

A delusional man who stabbed an acquaintance to death with scissors at a St. Paul group home in October pleaded guilty on Friday to intentional second-degree murder.

Anthony Jay Haukos, 45, of St. Paul, was seen by a police officer stabbing the victim, Thomas Grover Stein, 61, while Stein was lying unresponsive on the floor -- already covered with blood, the charges say.

The men lived across the street from each other.

Stein, who authorities said dressed like and preferred to be known as a woman, called a mental health practitioner on Oct. 27 to report that a man he knew as "Tony" was in Stein's apartment and acting unruly.

When officers arrived, they got no answer at Stein's door, and when an officer went outside to look in the window, he saw what appeared to be a middle-aged woman sprawled on the floor. Lying directly behind the victim was Haukos, the charges say.

A second officer then saw Haukos stab the bloodied victim in the neck.

After his arrest, Haukos told police that he had been cleaning Stein's apartment, the two smoked marijuana and that he "flipped out" on Stein.